Pennridge graduate wants world to hear Uganda sing

Friday

Years ago, the 1985 Pennridge graduate and West Rockhill native, donated some of his clothes to charity to clear out closet space when his now-wife moved in.

A shirt — with his work ID badge still in the pocket — ended up in a secondhand shop in the country of Malawi.

Kirkpatrick knows this because the owner of the shop found it, tracked him down and sent him a letter. The two men then began regularly exchanging correspondence.

When Kirkpatrick told the unusual tale to friends at his church, Calvary in Hilltown, they introduced him to their Ugandan friend who was in the U.S. trying to raise awareness and funds for his village.

Kirkpatrick and his wife listened to the Ugandan man’s story, but Kirkpatrick was skeptical about his request that they sponsor village children, thinking it might be a scam. So, the man invited the Kirkpatricks to Uganda.

A few months later, the couple took him up on his offer.

That was 1998. Since then, the Kirkpatricks, who now live in Texas, have returned to Uganda more than a dozen times.

“We have lots of friends there. We’re not missionaries, not charities,” Kirkpatrick said. “Instead of going to the beach or a cruise or Disney World, we just like going to Uganda.”

One thing that has struck Kirkpatrick is how many talented people he has met in Uganda, respected artists and musicians.

“Here in the U.S., we don’t really learn about Africa in the education system. Even in the news, it’s the same stereotypical narrative that comes out, and it’s usually not positive things,” he said.

Right now, for example, Uganda is making headlines after police seized operations of a newspaper that published an army general’s letter about an alleged plot for the president’s son to succeed him, according to The Associated Press.

Kirkpatrick wanted to shift the narrative, exposing “a global audience to a different side of Africa through music.”

He asked five of his Ugandan musician friends to donate two songs apiece — everything from pop to smooth jazz — to an album Kirkpatrick called “Uganda Sings.”

In June, he posted the album to a number of online music sites and began a marketing campaign on social media sites. In Apple’s iTunes store, the album is available for $9.90. All proceeds benefit the Uganda Speaks initiative, an online social media project founded by Ugandans to recapture the narrative about their country.

“I’m not earning anything from it,” Kirkpatrick said. “This is just purely a labor of love because it’s something I’m passionate about.”

Because of the fragmented way online music sales are distributed, Kirkpatrick isn’t sure how many copies of the album have sold, though he believes it numbers in the hundreds, rather than the thousands. More important to him, though, is the exposure the project has gotten in the press and on social media.

“(Uganda Sings) is a subversive way to have a positive impact on people … without being like a teacher or professor and standing and wagging my finger at people and saying, ‘You should know this,’ ” he said.